Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.  ~ Carl Sandburg

I am getting ready to take some PT or “Pause Time.” While it is intentional that I am spending this week at our home on the Chesapeake Bay, I realize I need to fully honor that Pause Time in my calendar.

I have gone to two conferences this summer. They were different, and each had such positive value for me in my business and life. Yet, I have not really taken the time to pause and reflect on how to go forward with all the information I learned. I have been in a catch-up mode after I returned from each.

I am sure you have been in this space at some point. You have so much on your plate and you are just pushing through the day. Often you find that you are not really getting anywhere. Sure you are checking off the “to do” items and blocking them into the calendar, but are you making any real forward progress?

Part of the problem is that we are keeping our minds so active getting our work done or moving to the next task, that we are not taking truly inspired action. And, I think it is even worse in today’s tech environment. You just have to log onto social media and you get inundated with all kinds of posts.

What does pause time do for you? When you actually create the space, slow down and let go, you are able to see things with a different perspective. You are able to reflect on where you are and where you want to go. This is especially true for seeing those opportunities that are just outside your comfort zone. You often do not even see them, if you don’t take the time to pause.

I think we can use a little bit of pause time in each day — a time for stillness and reflection. Take some time to be still, whether that is in the garden or in a quiet room overlooking the garden. It might even be a formal meditation practice that you have. I suggest doing this in a space that is not your office, so you do not have distractions. Then in that space of quiet, take the time to just be and then reflect on where you are and where you are going.

Join me in Pause Time. Find inspired action.

Here is a quote I like. It reminds me that the stillness and reflection providing answers, or inspired actions.

Unconventional and Unexpected
Roderick Kiracofe
Abrams, $50

I gave the new Twitter live-streaming app, Periscope, a try with a review of the book Unconventional and Unexpected by Roderick Kiracofe. My first scope was an experience. It threw me off that people were live and typing on the screen. The learning curve is not too bad and I know I will try again. By the way, I loved Unconventional and Unexpected and recommend it. Look for it at your local quilt shop and if you want to learn a bit more about the book, here’s a link to Amazon.

Do you still use your “to-do” list and prioritize all the items on it? According to a recent article in Forbes Magazine by Kevin Kruse, millionaires do not make to-do lists. What they do instead is live by the calendar.

What is the problem with making a to-do list? According to what Kruse discovered after talking with more than 200 successful people, the to-do list does not consider the time involved in completing the tasks, so you do not complete what is on the list; it does not let you distinguish between the urgent and important; and not completing items adds to your stress.

If successful people do not make to-do lists, what do they do? They live and work from their calendars. Yes, they may make a list, but they schedule the time to complete the specific item on their calendar and adhere to it.

One of the most successful approaches to this is to use time blocking. This is something that I do and that most of my private clients do.  Time blocking is a method of allocating or pre-assigning time for specific activities throughout your day. It helps me keep my day and life more balanced. I accomplish more because I have structure to my day, I can focus on a specific task with a high value, and I am able to manage interruptions. I am the one in charge of my day. Here is how to do this:

1. Review your daily and weekly activities.

• Can you determine how much time you spend on specific tasks? It might be helpful to track your time for a few days so you can see how much time you do spend on those activities. For example, do you check your e-mail every couple of hours and find that you spend at least 15 minutes each time answering them?

• Do you have like tasks that are spread through out the week, e.g., teaching every day, working with new clients, or taking in new quilts to longarm? Can these tasks be handled on one or two days, so your energy focuses on one activity?

• Do you have tasks that need attention that do not seem to get any? For example, dedicated marketing time is key for any business. Artists want to spend their time creating and often have trouble reconciling the need to spend so much time marketing. This task is often relegated to the leftover time when it needs to move to the front burner.

• Do you have uninterrupted time for creative work? Even though we run creative-based businesses, the time should still be dedicated to the task.

2. Consider your short- and long-term goals.

• Do you have a big project that needs to be completed? Start with a list of the tasks involved to complete it and estimate how much time is involved for each.

3. Consider your own personal work habits. When are you most effective? I’m a morning person, and I know I am more productive in the morning. For me this translates into activities that require brain-power earlier in the day.

4. Consider your life values and block time for them first. If you do not block time for your vacation, for your family, or exercise if these are important to you, they will get short shrift.

5. Armed with answers to those questions, get out your calendar and begin to block off time for your activities. What most of us do is set appointments with others and that’s what is on our calendar. We then fill our time with items on our goals or to-do list. This system lets you set an appointment with yourself for your work. Once you have shifted to an “appointment” mindset, it is often easier to accomplish tasks on your list. I like to start with the time that has to do with my life values and block that first. With your goals in mind, then put the important tasks first so you will accomplish them. If I do not block time for the key tasks, I can easily spend lots of time on simple tasks, like straightening art supplies or reading the latest quilt or art magazine or checking Facebook or Pinterest. These items don’t move my business forward in a significant way.

Here are some things you might like to time-block:

• Quilt intake time on one or two afternoons or evenings a week, rather than spread out at odd times.

• Time dedicated to longarm or production work

• Creative time to design

• Marketing time

• Bookkeeping, if you don’t have outside help

• Order fulfillment, if you don’t have outside help

• Learning time

• Time to work on blog posts and your communications with clients

• Writing time if you are working on a book

• Time to complete samples

• Time to read and respond to emails (I know you will have times when you need to check for something particular. When that happens, just handle that one item and save the rest for the blocked time.)

• Time to develop new classes

• Breaks in your day (This can be crucial if you are standing or sitting at a machine most of your day.)

To give you an idea of how I time block my week, I have our ICAP member calls and coaching calls on Tuesdays rather than spaced throughout the week. I block Monday afternoons for work with my mastermind clients. I allot one block of several hours during the week on one day to work on my blog and ezine articles. When I am working on a new program, I block time during each day to work on that. It is a goal with many smaller tasks that need to be completed. I also block out time twice a day for e-mail, so I am not checking constantly. I have an hour each day blocked out for reading or learning something new I can apply to the business. I block out Wednesday afternoons for errands. Because I know that is the day for errands, I try to schedule doctor appointments during that time, and I have already scheduled my hair appointments through the end of the year. And, I block out time for family and self-care first so they do not get lost.

I am not rigid with the time blocking, and, of course, I have other appointments to put in. I may have a networking meeting that comes up or the opportunity to go to a gallery opening. Because I accomplish more by time blocking, I am freer to make adjustments.

In the end the reason I think this works is because when you pre-assign the time for a specific activity, you are more focused on getting it done. In a sense, you created a deadline for yourself. And by batching like tasks together in the same block (like the quilt intake sessions), you work more efficiently.

Let me know how time blocking works for you. Leave a reply below or leave a comment on the ICAP Facebook or Google+ pages.

Are you a “what if?” kind of thinker? No, I don’t mean the kind of person who second guesses herself and stays stuck. I mean the kind of person who challenges statements and thinks beyond the obvious.

A few years ago, I was at a lab waiting to get my blood drawn for routine testing. A woman drove in on her motorized wheelchair and asked if someone owned the silver Buick parked in the back lot. The car was blocking her access to her van. (Before you think the owner of the Buick parked in the handicapped space was a horrible person, he was legally parked. She just needed more space on both sides of her van.) No one came forward, and off she went down the hall to the next doctor’s office looking for that silver Buick. I am not sure how many offices she had tried already. At this point, I thought that if someone just moved her van out of the space into the open lot, she could get on her way. That was my “what if?” I went to find her as she left yet another office. We went outside to find her van, and I backed it up. She was able to get into the van and was on her way. It was a rather simple answer to her problem, and one she had not considered.

What would you have done? Would you have tried to think of another possibility? (I will add I was number 27 in line, with 11 people in front of me, so I did have time on my hands.)

Here is a second example. I was looking through a recent issue of Bon Appétit and came across an article on wine packaging. I am familiar with wine in a box and have enjoyed wine poured this way. I have never enjoyed wine from a can, and while it can seem odd, they are apparently fine for good wine. Newer still is wine in a Tetra Pak® package. That is the foil-lined cartons with the long shelf life. It is currently quite popular in Europe and the sense is that the money goes for good grapes rather than packaging.

All these different types of packaging came about because someone said, “What if?”

We are all in situations that can challenge our thinking. As artists, we are faced with choices every day — red or blue, solid or print, too much shadow or not enough, embellishment or not. As business people, we make decisions about where to market our product, which trade show to participate in, whether to hire or fire employees. Next time you make a decision, make it and then ask yourself what if I try something different on top of the solution. For example, if you choose red over blue and a solid over a print, great. Now decide to do something different with the fabric. If you decide to exhibit at a retail or trade show, ask yourself what you can do differently with your booth this time to make it unique.

Or think a bigger “what if?” Instead of marketing traditionally at a trade show, what could you do that is different that lets you connect with your customers? Instead of sticking with the tried and true, what if you stretched in a different direction? Think beyond the obvious or what you have done in the past.

How have you challenged your thinking lately? Please share below.  You are welcome to also leave a comment on the ICAP Facebook or Google+ pages.

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” ~Ray Bradbury

New Quilts From An Old Favorite: Nine Patch
edited by Linda Baxter Lasco
American Quilter’s Society; $24.95

Do you remember the first quilt block you made? I do, and it was a nine patch. I went on to teach quiltmaking and the first block my students made was — you guessed it — a nine patch. I went on to make some innovative, as well as traditional, quilts using this block. All that said, I was excited to see the latest winners in the annual New Quilts From An Old Favorite contest. The 2015 block was the Nine Patch, and the 18 quilts included in the book covering the contest are inspiring. I always love this contest because it stretches, really stretches, the entrants. Everyone starts with the same block and the resulting quilts are all so different. In some the nine-patch is recognizable; in others, you have to look to figure out where the nine patch is. In addition to be inspired, you will learn new techniques, including design and construction techniques.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here is the link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

“As an artist, you want to stretch. That’s the only way you’re going to grow. If I stay inside my comfort zone, do roles that I’ve done before, then I’m never going to get better as an actress.” Jurnee Smollett

When Bad Things Happen to Good Quilters
Joan Ford
Taunton Press; $24.95

Do you have a UFO? Or maybe two? I have a few in various stages of completion. Why have I not finished them? Joan Ford’s theory is that something went wrong, and that is why the quilt is in the UFO pile. If that is your excuse, and even if it is not, you will find a wealth of tips to help you get past what is holding you back. Joan shares her knowledge as an experienced quilter, teacher and pattern designer. Additionally, she interviewed both experts in our industry as well as everyday quilters to share their frustrations and successes. The book starts with a look at the hardware, aka your tools; then moves onto your software, aka your fabric; then to making your blocks; sewing the quilt; quilting the quilt; and caring for it. You can read the book cover to cover and enjoy the tips, plus Joan’s wonderful sense of humor, or you can start with where you are stuck. Some of the tips I liked were Joan’s friend Beth and her idea of filling a pincushion with a pin to represent each UFO. She moved the pins to a second pincushion when each quilt was completed, and only when she had moved all the pins did she allow herself to purchase fabric for a new project.  Another fun tip is from Amy, who always writes her name in permanent ink on one of the seam allowances. This way the name of the maker of the quilt top survives.  You will also learn how to make the knots disappear and how to test your marking tools. And, if you look hard enough, you will find my “bad” experience that turned “good.” If you are looking for a good troubleshooting guide with a sense of humor, this book is your answer.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here is the link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.